


Ribbons and Little Nuisances

by octopus_fool



Series: Yuletide Cheer [5]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, F/F, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Gift Giving, Pre-Relationship, Siblings, annoying little sister
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2015-12-17
Packaged: 2018-05-06 22:41:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5433503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/octopus_fool/pseuds/octopus_fool
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sigrid thinks about giving Tauriel a gift before the Mirkwood delegation leaves, while Tilda is both a help and an annoyance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ribbons and Little Nuisances

**Author's Note:**

> Written for prompt 13 of [ardaadvent](http://ardaprompts.tumblr.com/post/133103717966/arda-advent-guidelines) on tumblr, "gifts".

Sigrid was about to drift into sleep when Tilda pressed an icy foot against her shin.

“Why aren’t you wearing socks?!” Sigrid asked, biting down the little shriek that threatened to escape.

Although it was too dark to see in the tent they had been inhabiting since Smaug had burnt down Laketown, Sigrid could easily imagine the eye roll her little sister was giving her. 

“I’m not cold.”

Sigrid flinched as a second icy foot joined the first one. “Then why are you trying to warm your feet on me?”

“I just wanted to see if you’re still awake. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to get too warm.”

Sigrid could hear the smirk in Tilda’s voice. Sigrid sighed but didn’t push Tilda’s feet away. She didn’t want her to catch a cold and having her beside her after all that had happened was comforting.  
Sigrid was just about to settle back down and go to sleep when Tilda spoke again.

“You like her, don’t you? The elf?”

“What are you talking about?” Sigrid asked, using the voice Ma had always used when the Master’s men came to ask questions and that Sigrid had adopted to keep Da out of trouble after Ma had died. Inwardly she was cursing. She had thought she had been subtle, but not much went past Tilda without her noticing.

“I’m not stupid, you know?” Tilda said. “I saw how happy you were when she survived and you always try to get a place close to her at the negotiations and start conversations with her. I’m not even counting all the times you look at her like she’s the greatest person to walk the earth when you think nobody is looking.”

“I think Da might be right when he says you’ll be good at court and at figuring out what people are trying to achieve. Are there any other things you’ve noticed when you are sitting in your corner pretending to draw during negotiations? Perhaps it will be useful,” Sigrid said.

Tilda kicked her against her shin, not quite hard enough to really hurt. “You are trying to change the topic! Stop that!”

Sigrid kicked back. “And you are prying into things that are none of your business! You stop it yourself.”

They were quiet for a while, then Tilda spoke up again.  
“Are you going to marry her?”

Sigrid laughed. “That’s not how these things work. Elves and humans don’t just marry and besides, there’s that little matter that I’m still so young….”

“But you’re of age! You’re allowed to marry.”

“Just barely,” Sigrid replied. “And this isn’t so much about being allowed to marry; it is more that she has experienced so much more than I have. She was already alive when Smaug took Erebor. She has seen so many more things than I can even imagine. It wouldn’t work.”

“So what are you going to do?” Tilda asked.

“Just let her go back to Mirkwood and miss her, I suppose,” Sigrid said, thinking of the green ribbon she had secretly been embroidering for Tauriel, despite knowing she wouldn’t give it to her.

“But you don’t want her to go and I think she likes you too….”

“She’s just friendly to me, like she is to most people. Just leave it, nothing is going to come of it,” Sigrid said.

“I’m sorry.” Tilda wrapped her arms around Sigrid. “I want you to be happy.” 

 

The end of the negotiations approached faster than Sigrid would have liked. Whenever she was not busy with negotiations, running the household or sleeping, Sigrid worked on the green ribbon. It hadn’t taken long for Tilda to catch on to what she was doing and Tilda teased her mercilessly about it but at least she didn’t tell anyone else about it. 

The border of the ribbon grew, dark green leaves sprouting from it, then pale white flowers. Sigrid would have preferred using silver, but the silver yarn she had been saving for a special occasion had been lost when their house and town had been destroyed. She had only managed to get the ribbon and yarn through lots of bartering and trading. The needle had been made from a bone. Sigrid was glad that her mother had taught her the ancient technique, even though the needle it had yielded was slightly awkward to work with.

Finally, it was done. Sigrid let her hands glide over it, checking it for any mistakes she might have missed. There were none. It was as good as it was going to get. She looked down on the ribbon for another moment, then lifted it to her lips, pressing a soft kiss onto it, immediately feeling silly.

There was a giggle from the entrance of the tent. Sigrid whipped around to see Tilda standing there.

“When are you giving it to her?”

“Never you mind that. How long have you been standing there?”

Tilda ignored her. “Why don’t you kiss her instead of that ribbon? I’m pretty sure that would be more fun. And make more sense.”

“Because that is not how these things work. I can’t just kiss her.”

“Why not?

“First of all, I doubt she’d want me to. And besides, it’s just not done like that.” 

Sigrid stuffed the ribbon into a pocket of her apron and stormed off, telling herself that leaving annoying little sisters behind that way was in no way immature.

 

As it turned out, it was not easy to find the right time to give Tauriel the ribbon. The days until the end of negotiations dwindled and what little opportunities there were to give Tauriel her gift flew by. Sigrid became more and more convinced that the entire notion of giving Tauriel something to remind her of Sigrid had been a bad idea. Sigrid would just keep the ribbon to remember Tauriel.

 

The day of the elves’ departure dawned bright and clear. There was a wintery chill in the air, but for the first time in weeks, Sigrid could imagine that the spring they were all hoping for might actually come.

The men and women who had come to be the leading speakers beside Bard accompanied King Thranduil and his elves towards the make-shift stables where their horses were kept. Sigrid kept glancing at Tauriel, but she had resigned herself. This had merely been a young girl’s crush, nothing worth acting on. She should be too old to believe in romantic tales like Tilda did.

The elves had their horses brought and King Thranduil whistled for his elk, which had been allowed to roam free.  
Sigrid looked at Tauriel again. She would miss her, her stout belief in doing what was right, her little jokes that always turned to awkwardness when people took to long to react and the way she loved standing outside at night, staring up at the stars. She would miss the flames of her hair and that little hesitation before Tauriel’s face broke into a smile.  
And just like that, it hit Sigrid that by the time she saw Tauriel again, she might be middle-aged and mother of a small horde of children or old and leaning on a walking stick while Tauriel had not changed one bit. Or she might never see Tauriel again in her life.

Her feet moved forward before she had time to completely think things through.

“Tauriel, may I speak with you alone for a moment?”

King Thranduil and Prince Legolas raised their eyebrows in unison. Sigrid ignored them, trying to focus only on Tauriel.

“Of course.”

They walked to the pebbly shore of the Lake, stopping only when a small copse of crooked pines shielded them from the curious gazes. Sigrid took out the ribbon.

“I wanted to give you something. It isn’t much, but I thought it might help keep your hair out of your face while hunting. You mentioned that it is always an annoyance when it gets into your eyes…”

Tauriel took the ribbon and examined Sigrid’s embroidery. 

“Did you make this yourself? It is gorgeous! I don’t have much skill at making things, you know, and this will be so useful. Except it is so beautiful I’d be afraid to ruin it while hunting. Would you mind braiding it into my hair?”

“No, I’d like that,” Sigrid replied, getting out her mother’s wooden comb that she always carried with her. Gently she began brushing and parting Tauriel’s hair, marveling at its softness. The bright colour was even more vivid up close.

“It would have been inappropriate to speak first,” Tauriel said as Sigrid finished the braid, “even though Tilda mentioned you might… well you know… But I do have something for you too.”

She pulled a sheaved dagger from her cloak and Sigrid’s thoughts about how to murder her little sister for this betrayal evaporated. “I want you to be safe while I am away and this will help you protect yourself. I’m afraid the dagger is nothing special, standard Mirkwood issue. There is no forge here we could have used to make one especially for you.”

Sigrid’s eyes widened at the sight of the weapon. It was simple but still of breath-taking beauty, the lines on the silver dagger intertwining like vines.

“I did design the sheath for you though,” Tauriel continued and Sigrid’s attention switched to the sheath instead. “I understand that the thrush was your family’s sigil in past times?”

Sigrid nodded, looking at the thrush amidst trees carved into the leather in an intricate design. Perhaps she was reading too much into it, but the sight of the thrush between the trees made her heart skip a beat. 

“Thank you so much! It is beautiful and I will feel much safer with it!” 

Colour spread across Tauriel’s cheeks and in the spur of the moment, Sigrid leaned forward and placed a light kiss on her cheek, Tauriel’s skin warm beneath her lips. Sigrid felt her face grow hot as well. 

“What… I… that… What was that?” Tauriel asked lowering her eyes, her face even brighter than before.

“A kiss. Don’t elves sometimes kiss others they are close to on the cheek to express gratitude as well?” Sigrid replied, made bold by Tauriel’s shyness.

“We… sometimes. Very rarely. I was not expecting that.”

Their eyes met and they gazed at each other for a moment.

“I should thank you properly as well,” Tauriel whispered and leaned in, slow enough to give Sigrid the opportunity to turn away should she have wished to.

Tauriel’s lips touched Sigrid’s skin just beside the corner of her mouth, much to low for a thank you kiss. Sigrid found herself closing her eyes as Tauriel’s gentle lips lingered for a brief moment. Slowly, Tauriel pulled away. Sigrid opened her eyes to see Tauriel giving her a tender, slightly apprehensive smile. Sigrid found herself beaming back at her.

“Can I be the flower girl?”

Sigrid spun her head around to see Tilda emerge from the copse of pines and begin dancing around them, making the pebbles clack and crunch. “I want to be the flower girl when you two get married.”

Sigrid closed her eyes and wished the ground would swallow her up. “Tilda. Nobody said anything about marriage. Now go back to Da or I’ll tie you to King Thranduil’s saddle just like the obnoxious princeling in that song.”

“You wouldn’t.” Tilda grinned at her, but took a step back all the same. She stood there bouncing on her toes for a moment. Then she rushed forward and flung her arms around both Sigrid and Tauriel.  
“I’m so happy for the two of you. This is the best thing that has happened in years!”

“Thank you,” Sigrid said, slightly touched. “And now shoo!”

Tilda skipped off. Sigrid let her head sink onto Tauriel’s shoulder.  
“I’m so sorry about that.”

Tauriel laughed and pressed a kiss onto Sigrid’s hair. “Don’t worry, she’s cute. And I wouldn’t like you any less even if she were as obnoxious as the princeling in that song.”


End file.
